Compact, cross-platform instrument puts a basic test bench in a user’s pocket

Believed to be the world’s first test equipment designed to run on multiple platforms and operating systems, including smartphones, tablets, and PCs running iOS, Android, Windows or Linux, the SmartScope is an open-source, USB-based instrument. Measuring just 110.0 x 64.0 x 24.2 mm and weighing only 158 g, SmartScope combines a mixed signal oscilloscope with arbitrary-waveform and digital-output generators, all powered directly from the host platform’s USB interface. Thus the compact instrument makes it easy for users to carry a basic test bench in their pocket.

The instrument resulted from a successful 2014 Kickstarter campaign and was originally intended for so-called Makers, allowing them to easily diagnose faults on single-board computers such as Raspberry Pi and Arduino, and learn more about how basic electronics and their design works. However, the under-$250 unit’s specs are solid enough to interest individuals involved in electronics-engineering, field-service, and education applications, as well as hobbyist.

The scope has two 30-MHz-bandwidth analog channels with a sample rate up to 100 Msamples/s. Input signal range is ±35 V with a 1- MΩ / 1-pF impedance and has an 8 bit precision and a maximal resolution of 2.5 mV. The 8-input-channel logic analyzer offers user selectable logic levels of 3.3 or 5 Vdc, and the supplied application software includes a number of standard decoders, for such protocols as for I2C and SPI; the software also lets user create custom decoders. The single-channel waveform generator can create arbitrary waveforms with a data rate up to 50 Msamples/s and an output level from 0 to 3.3 V. A digital output generator provides 4 channels, up to a rate of 100 Msamples/s at either 3.3 or 5 V. A mini ‘B’ USB cable, two analog probes, and a digital cable and probes complete the hardware package.

A major key to the instrument’s ease of use is its software, which provides the user interface on the host platform and controls functionality. The software delivers a comprehensive set of on-screen functions — accessible either
by touch, mouse, or keyboard controls — for voltage scaling, timebase scaling, panning, input coupling, triggering, and simple voltage measurements. The software can be downloaded from the LabNation web site, and is available for Android (Google Play Store or LabNation website), Apple Mac OS X, Apple iOS (jailbroken), Microsoft Windows 7, 8, and 10, and Ubuntu and Debian Linux distributions.

LabNation, www.lab-nation.com